Code/Ritual books

[Companion Joe]

I have a question for my own enlightenment and education about other jurisdictions. (I have done searches and still have some questions)

It seems to be a big deal among Texas Masons about "code books." In Tennessee, the "code book" is the laws of the Grand Lodge and should be on or near every secretary's desk. I take it from my searches that the code books that seem to be at issue are not official, seeing as how you can buy them in book stores, etc. Does Texas not have a ritual book issued to Master Masons?

Ours is blue and called the Tennessee Craftsman. All newly raised MMs are given theirs the night the are raised, and everyone in attendance signs it. We also have a red, purple, and black book for the Chapter, Council, and Commandery.

The Craftsman does not contain the obligations, lectures, etc. Most of it is prayers and charges at opening and closing, second and third sections from degree work, the charges, officer installation, funeral service, etc. The parts that are from the first sections, if you don't know what it's supposed to be, it wouldn't do you any good because of all the blanks.

For example, it might say, "the - - of a - - - are the - - - and - -" or "you will now - - to the - of - - and caused - - for the - of - -."

These are nicely bound, about 4X5, and easily carried in the pocket. They are printed by the Grand Lodge and fall under the auspices of the state Ritual Committee and Board of Custodians. They are only available from your Lodge secretary.

Here is a photo of what my Craftsman and red book (no real title) from the Chapter look like.

 

[crono782]

I'll keep the answer brief. GLoTX has no ritual book. There is the monitor though. It contains charges, grand officer reception instructions, etc and some plain text esoteric material that is not part of the ritual. The "code book/cipher book" is printed by an outside company whose ritual books are the official ones in some states. In Texas, it is neither official nor (and I believe this is a sticking point) authorized. Chapter and Council have similar ritual books to what you describe however.


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[Brother JC]

In some jurisdictions there is the Masonic Code and in others it's the Constitution and By-Laws.
Many have (as mentioned) a Monitor, which is what your book appears to be. Some states have a Cipher (or Cifer), which is a "coded" version of the entire Work of the a Three Degrees.
Much of the discussion in another thread was regarding the Ciphers, and the fact that Texas does not use one.
I'm pretty sure we all have a Code, a.k.a. "rulebook."

 

[Bro. Stewart P.M.]

I'll keep the answer brief. GLoTX has no ritual book. There is the monitor though. It contains charges, grand officer reception instructions, etc and some plain text esoteric material that is not part of the ritual. The "code book/cipher book" is printed by an outside company whose ritual books are the official ones in some states. In Texas, it is neither official nor (and I believe this is a sticking point) authorized. Chapter and Council have similar ritual books to what you describe however.


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Yes, basically TX recognizes that the literature exists and is legal for Brethren to own, but not to teach from or bring inside the Lodge.

 

[otherstar]

Yes, basically TX recognizes that the literature exists and is legal for Brethren to own, but not to teach from or bring inside the Lodge.

Yes, this...and there are several errors in the book that I've seen that you wouldn't know were errors if you didn't already know the work. I believe it's published as an "aid to the memory" and for that, it is good. I would not recommend it for learning something that you did not already know.

 

[Bill Lins]

There seems to be some confusion between "code" and "laws". Unlike some other jurisdictions, the Grand Lodge of Texas does not call our body of laws a "code". Here it is referred to as "the Lawbook". The unofficial book of ritual is encoded/encrypted and is referred to as a "code book" or "cipher".

 

[rfuller]

Yeah. The joke in Texas is there are 6 errors in the Texas cipher, but even the Committee on Work can't agree where they are. At my lodge, we've found one in the FC degree in the past week.

It's unofficial, and I didn't even know it existed until this past year. I was able to go to our local Barnes & Nobel and pick it up off the shelf. There was nothing written on the outside of the book. It was wrapped in plastic like a journal. It's not called "The Texas Cipher". So it took a little investigating, but after about 30 minutes of searching, I found it.

It has been a handy tool for me. I took about a 5 year break from the lodge because of my ex wife. When I came back after my divorce and wanted to get involved again, one brother suggested it as a refresher. I can't spend an hour at lunch every day with an instructor going over the work, but I can keep my cipher in my truck and spend an hour reading through whatever I need to polish up on.

Not to toot my own horn, but that hour a day is quickly making me one of the go-to guys at my lodge, concerning the work. I'd like to get my instructor's certificate this year.

I learned it mouth to ear, and I still believe that's the only way it should be done. I have lots of problems with other jurisdictions handing out ciphers to the brothers learning the work, but I think it has value as a refresher. I honestly wish the grand lodge would fix the errors and sell them to lodges as needed. Maybe put a time limit on when you can purchase it (no less than a year after your raising). It has value, and it keeps busy brethren like myself involved. I wish we would just take some time to think through some of the issues and approach it with a level head.

 

[cacarter]

That same sentiment of having Grand Lodge of Texas selling them has been mentioned in circles in the Dallas area as well. We all think it could be a great money maker AND it would be correct work. We all figure it will never happen though, so Barnes & Noble and the publisher will be the only ones making a profit off the sale of code books.

 

[dfreybur]

Yes, basically TX recognizes that the literature exists and is legal for Brethren to own, but not to teach from or bring inside the Lodge.

In other words there is an authorized cipher but it comes with exacting restrictions.

I do find it odd that it is called a code book in Texas where that word has a completely different meaning in so many other jurisdictions. Just another one of those differences jurisdiction to jurisdiction that are the result of drift across time.

 

[Bill Lins]

In other words there is an authorized cipher

The cipher is allowed but is in no way authorized.​

 

[crono782]

Currently its existence is tolerated, but not authorized by GL.


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[Companion Joe]

I just found out tonight, checking the Tennessee code, that the use of any unauthorized codes/ciphers/etc. by a Lodge is grounds for having your charter taken. You learn something new every day. I had never really given it much thought, I guess, because our Craftsman is so good, there is no need to seek unauthorized publications.

 

[Brandon Smith]

In Louisiana we have a ciphered ritual book for all three degrees (including opening/closing), a "floor work" book, and ciphered catechism books. None of which are allowed to be used in open lodge, with maybe(not 100% sure) the exception of the 10 lodges working solely in the Scottish Rite (1-3 degrees). Some of our EAs and FCs are given the catechism books to learn their work along with their coach, but I do not agree with that practice. It is left up to the coach.

 

[Klikmaus]

Updating this...

Macoy Publishing just released King Solomon and His Followers: Lone Star 26 last week.
This is the edition with the errors corrected and IS APPROVED by GLoT.
It is still not allowed in the Lodge room, however, nor is it acceptable as an alternative to mouth-to-ear instruction.

 

[Brother_Steve]

New Jersey has its own cipher books specifically published for the GL of NJ. These must be purchased by the lodge secretary by placing an order through the Grand Lodge. It uses symbols such as %, ::, &, @, and other various unique fonts to encode our work. The secrets are left blank and must be taught to us. You cannot find anything within the books that will reveal the modes of recognition.

I asked for the books because I was planning on asking to be an officer. They are given out on a "by request" basis. You can go your whole masonic life without them if you do not ask for them.

We also have the constitution in print for the Wardens, WM, treasurer and secretary which must be accessible during a meeting.

 

[Warrior1256]

Ours is blue and called the Tennessee Craftsman. All newly raised MMs are given theirs the night the are raised,

Ours is black and called the Kentucky Monitor.

We also have a red, purple, and black book for the Chapter, Council, and Commandery.

Same here.

 

[Brother JC]

Ours is black and called the Kentucky Monitor.

In both NM and CA the Monitor and the cipher are completely different animals.

 

[hanzosbm]

In both NM and CA the Monitor and the cipher are completely different animals.

KY is a bit different. It is in plain text, but leaves out certain parts entirely. Those parts are generally those taught in the proficiency, so the thought is that those portions wouldn't need to be written down. Some argue that the parts left out are therefore considered to be 'the secrets'. Others disagree, but, that's a discussion for a different day.
CA sounds very similar to what Brother_Steve described for New Jersey. There are 3 groups of information: the majority of the ritual is written in a cipher, the portions deemed monitorial are written in plain text, and the word(s) are simply not written at all. In CA, there is a separate book called the Monitor which is basically all of the plain text portions of the cipher (the charge, portions of the lectures, prayers, etc)

Both CA and KY books were given to me without asking, but to be honest, I've never really looked into how authorized/approved/etc they are.

 

[Warrior1256]

KY is a bit different. It is in plain text, but leaves out certain parts entirely. Those parts are generally those taught in the proficiency, so the thought is that those portions wouldn't need to be written down.

True.

 

[Bill Lins]

In both NM and CA the Monitor and the cipher are completely different animals.

Same under GLoTX- the Monitor contains prayers, funeral services, installation of officers & constitution of new Lodges and the like, but none of the esoteric work- that is found in our code book, so named because it is written in encoded form.